Gore Mountain 1/7/06-1/8/06
Date(s) Skied:
Saturday, 1/7/06, and Sunday 1/8/06
Conditions:
Great up top, Good on the Lower Mountain
Trip Report:
Well, I'm up at Gore every weekend, but I finally decided to post a TR. I don't feel as though a few words on Monday can do a good job of explaining the whole Gore experience, so I encourage everyone to get up to Gore sometime this year and ski it for yourself.
Saturday Morning, the Mountain was in Great shape. The lower mountain was firm and fast, and the upper mountain was going off. They were making snow on Hawkeye, Open Pit and Lies. Hawkeye had big soft bumps that became bigger as the day progressed. Open Pit and Lies were also in Good Shape. After Lunch, the lower mountain was getting a little skied off, so we stayed up top and stuck to Hawkeye.
After skiing, the Tannery Lounge was just about as crowded as I've ever seen. Strange sights included two hippies who looked like Jesus dressed up in bathrobes drinking champagne. There were groups of people in the main lodge too, with huge spreads of food on some tables. Coolers (no doubt filled with soda :wink: ) were stationed outside on the deck for easy access.
Around 5:30 the torchlight parade/fireworks started. As usual, the best part was the grand finale. Attempting to post pictures now:
http://img2.postimage.org/208941/torchlight.jpg
http://img2.postimage.org/208936/fireworks1.jpg
After the fireworks, the party continued in the bar for about an hour, then we moved on to Casey's.
Sunday was a good day too. More crowded than Saturday, but the crowds seemed focused on the lower mountain, leaving the upper mountain prime. They stopped blowing snow on Hawkeye, and the bumps had firmed up a bit, but were still fun. Lies was the trail of the day. They must have been blowing snow on it all night because soft snow piles accumulated all over the trail, and soft bumps developed by mid-day.
Also of note: They started making snow on Rumor. Just the lower part mind you, I assume their plan is to open it up first below the headwall (where the cutoff from Hawkeye comes in above upper gunbarrel). Speaking of gunbarrel, they opened it up (upper and lower) on Sunday under natural snow conditions. It skied down to rock pretty quickly, but it looked fun. I didn't have my rock skis on so I didn't tempt it. All in all, it was a good weekend, and only going to get better as the year progresses.
